40 Years After Moon Landing: Why Aren't People Smarter?

   By Benjamin Radford, LiveScience's Bad Science Columnist posted: 16 July 2009 10:15 am

   Beingsmart involves being able to understand the relationships betweenevents, finding and questioning hidden assumptions, and so on. The factis, most students are not taught how to think analytically and critically.    Beingsmart involves being able to understand the relationships betweenevents, finding and questioning hidden assumptions, and so on.
   The fact is, most students are not taught how to think analytically andcritically. Image Credit: stockxpert var related_images = new related_module(); Editor's Note: Forty years ago this month, humans landed on themoon for the first time. We asked Benjamin Radford why, four decadeslater, humans have not become any smarter. A look at old periodicals reveals something very interesting abouthuman nature.
   Newspapers and magazines from the early 1900s were fullof advertisements for instant weight loss gizmos, miracle cures, andall other forms of self-evident quackery. A century later, this stuffis still being advertised — and lots of people are buying. You would think that by now people would know that you can't lose 10pounds a week taking a "breakthrough" miracle pill, and you can't earn$50,000 a week working from home in your spare time (at least notlegally). Despite a long tradition of free, compulsory public education (andmore college graduates than ever), as a whole we don't seem to begetting much smarter. Many of us still buy the newest fad items and get suckered into the latest
conspiracy theory.We still fall for the same logical traps, the same wacky ideas, thesame old discredited snake oil in shiny new bottles that plagued ourforefathers—and their forefathers. Why? If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we rise above bad thinking?
   Education
   Education is a big part of the problem. Our educational system tends to focus on rote facts andmemorization: names, dates, places, and events. It is easy to teachchildren basic facts, and to test their knowledge of those facts;either students know the capital of Argentina or they don't, and eitherthe correct oval is darkened with graphite or it isn't. (The emphasison "teaching to the test" also undermines critical thinking, favoringcompartmentalized factual memorization over in-depth understanding.)Being smart involves being able to understand the relationshipsbetween events, finding and questioning hidden assumptions, and so on.
   The fact is, most students are not taught how to think analytically and critically. Critical thinking classes are rarely included in typical educationalcurriculum. The vain hope is that in the process of studying geography,math, English, biology, and so on, students will learn to thinkcritically. But critical thinking should not be an afterthought orhappy byproduct, it should be a primary goal because it is a way ofthinking that can be applied to all academic subjects and areas oflife. Cognitive limitations

    The widespreadfailure to teach critical thinking (or even recognize its importance)is only part of the problem. Efforts to make our kids smarter willinevitably crash up against a biological barrier: Our brains areactually hardwired to hinder our attempts to think critically. Critical thinking is often counterintuitive, and our brains are easily fooled. superstition and irrational thinkingcome easily to us; we jump to conclusions without evidence; our biasesand prejudices influence how we interpret the world.
   We see faces in clouds and patterns in events where they do not exist. Personalexperience and vivid anecdotes are much more easily learned andremembered than facts. Our fears and emotions often override facts andlogic (for example, the factual knowledge that air travel is very, verysafe does little to calm many people's visceral fear of flying. In a way, the better question is, should we expect people to be any smarter? Critical thinking is a skill, and like any skill it can be taught,practiced, and improved upon. Expecting the average person to thinklogically and critically is like expecting the average person to playthe piano or write a book. With study and practice, almost anyone cando it with some level of proficiency, but most people don't learn howto think critically or analytically—nor are they even aware of itsvalue.
  More data, same processorsThe amount of human knowledge has increased exponentially over thepast few centuries. We have more information than ever before onvirtually every imaginable topic, from physics to medicine tosociology. (The notable exceptions are paranormal, possiblynon-existent subjects like ghosts, Bigfoot, and psychic powers; thebody of knowledge about these topics has not increased at all.) But all that data and information is useless if people can't effectively understand or apply it. Without logic, wisdom, and reasoned analysis, facts are useless. The United States — and indeed the world — is faced with a dauntingset of challenges, including climate change, influenza pandemics,warfare, the search for renewable energy, and so on. Solving theseproblems will require an educated public able to critically andlogically analyze the issues. Hopefully that will happen, but ifhistory is any guide, we will instead stumble and muddle through, justas we always have.